A lot of people think that the song Reila, penned by Ruki, is about an ex-girlfriend of Ruki's who was murdered, dumped him, or killed herself. The fact of the matter is that the song is about none of these. He may have hinted at it a little in the lyrics, or nodded to theories spurted during interviews, but in all actuality, Ruki is just trying to cover his tracks. This story explains Reila, and why the spelling of the song's title so closely resembles 'Reita'. The song was never about a person who died, but a beautiful relationship that died, that was murdered not by the lovers themselves, but by outside forces. This is the story of Reituki...

(It was the beginning of 2004, and Kai had been drumming for the band for almost a year now. At about this time the band was preparing to go into the studio to record "Zakurogata No Yuutsu". Of course, other than to give you a time frame to work with, this information is irrelevant.)

On a cold, wintry February day, Ruki was relaxing out on the front deck of his mother's house, wrapped up in a handmade scarf, and in between the fingers of his leather gloves sat a Marlboro Light cigarette. He had only taken a few short hits off it, and he sighed as he looked out toward the soft, powdery snowflakes falling to the ground.

"I know you hate this kind of weather, but it will clear up soon." Reita had stepped out onto the porch to join him and light up a Mild Seven Light held tightly between the digits of his bare hand.

Ruki looked over and smiled. "Try not to get frostbitten, Suzu."

Reita had disliked that nickname at first, but after a while, he got used to Ruki calling him that, since Ruki was the only one who had ever done so. He took a long drag off his cigarette, and looked around boredly. "What did you want me to do tonight? I was thinking I should go back into town and take the train"-

Ruki made a loud noise, resembling the sound someone makes when they clear their throat. Scuffling a bit, he replied in a soft, flat tone, "I don't think that will be necessary." With that, Ruki put out his cigarette and headed back inside. Reita quickly followed suit, knowing full well that Ruki wouldn't dare let him take the 97km trip back home in this weather.

After a warm dinner, the two bandmates were just relaxing in Ruki's bedroom. They were sitting on the floor in front of a small television set, watching an old John Travolta movie. Neither of them possess very exemplary English skills, so subtitles were running across the screen for them.

In the middle of the flick, Reita turned to his best friend. "I heard Uruha is throwing a party this weekend."

"What of it?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on going, but then I realized I could tolerate seeing Uruha absolutely wasted if I had someone fun to go with me. I mean, Aoi will be holding Uru's hair back for him, and Kai won't get even just a teeny bit buzzed with me..."

There was a moment of silence, and Reita fidgeted a little bit.

Ruki took a deep breath. "I guess I'll go if it makes you happy."

That Saturday night, Ruki arrived at Uruha's party first. However, he was not early, not by any means. It was nearing midnight, and Uruha was already too sloshed to walk properly. This left him feeling irritated, and he moved to the kitchen, where he decided that he would have a drink. Standing between the refrigerator and stove, he set out a small glass and began pouring Kirin Koiwai Apple into it. He was taking a sip when he almost spit out his drink all over the place.

Closing the door behind him, Reita was entering Uruha's home. He was dressed very graciously for the occasion, adorning a silk shirt, soft black vest, and slim-fit slacks. His hair may have been in its usual haphazard, half-mohawk style, but just below his perfectly made-up eyes sat a silk nose tanga that matched his shirt. Ruki was mesmerized, starstruck to say the least.

Not knowing what else to do, Ruki tilted the cup back and chugged the entire contents of his glass. Smiling, he moved toward Reita with a pink tinge still lingering on the corners of his cheeks. Stopping in front of the other, he was about to say something, when he felt himself being shoved out of the way.

"Reita!" A plastered Uruha made his way to the bassist, wrapping his arms around him just a little too tightly, his whole body weight leaning against the other in a clumsy attempt to say his salutations. Ruki was shocked, but before he could react, Aoi came up and pried the drunken man away, pulling him into the living area and onto a sofa so that he wouldn't fall over somewhere.

With an awkward smile, Reita said to no one in particular, "Well, that's Uruha for ya." He then noticed Ruki standing near him. "What's up?"

The singer's cheeks reddened even more and he found himself simply saying, "Nothing. I was just waiting for you."

Reita let out a roaring chuckle, the kind a man only lets out when he is in the highest of spirits. "Based on the fact that your face is so red, and your breath smells of booze, seems you have been doing plenty without me! Let's get you another drink!"

The next morning, Ruki's eyes opened to the sun beating down on his face from the open window. He had managed to take one of the guest beds, something that usually never happened. He pouted when he realized he was still in all of his clothes and accessories from last night, and he couldn't remember when he'd fallen asleep...or how. He was in the middle of a stretch when his hand bumped something large next to him. Confused, Ruki looked over...and saw Reita!

Shocked, Ruki just about fell out of the bed. Upon further inspection, however, he realized that Reita too was fully clothed so the night must not have been as intense as he was thinking. As Ruki gained his bearings and relaxed, he got out of bed and headed out into the living room. It was the middle of the afternoon, and some of the other guests were awake and recovering from the night before.

Uruha was still on the sofa, but lying on his side and asleep with a bucket set in front of him, just in case. Aoi was awake, sitting in the chair adjacent from the sofa, puffing on a cigarette. In the kitchen, Kai was attempting to make lunch while a few other guests were seated at the table or standing around the island in the middle of the kitchen. Either way, everyone seemed to be looking at Ruki as he entered the room.

The singer made his way to the kitchen table and took a seat. His eyebrows furrowed at the sound of a collective giggle from those who were in the room. Kai, being the chipper little shit that he is, was the first one to say anything about it.

"Did you two have a good night last night?"

Ruki lifted his head and looked at Kai. "What do you mean? I can't remember anything."

Of course, this only made the laughter in the room crescendo into a comedic uproar. "Normally, things would be left at that, since you wouldn't believe me if I told you what happened. But...thanks to technology, I can just show you."

Kai pulled out his cell phone and began going through the menu. As he was doing so, the drummer was humming the harmony to an old pop song. Making a thoughtful face, he stopped pressing buttons. "I will show you the video, but only if you promise me that if Reita doesn't remember last night, you won't tell him about this."

"And why not?"

"Because," Kai said with a childish smile, "He is manly and straight, remember?"